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Is Pineapple Safe to Eat During Pregnancy?

I am reading a lot on the internet since I became pregnant. I came across articles saying eating pineapple is actually not good because it causes early labor. Is this really true? I love pineapple because it helps relieve my constipation.

Thank you for your interesting question. The reason you've been hearing about pineapple is because it contains something called Bromelain which, in large quantities can help soften the cervix and so induce labour. However, my antenatal teacher told me that a woman would have to eat at least 7 fresh pineapples to gain enough Bromelain which would cause her to have diarrhoea and also soften the cervix.

Eating a normal amount of fresh pineapple in pregnancy should not be harmful and contains lots of vitamin C to help your developing baby.

However, I am caution over your comment that the pineapple helps to relieve your constipation. You would not want to eat so much pineapple that it gave you diarrhoea in pregnancy. How much pineapple do you eat? Is it fresh pineapple/ fresh pineapple juice - only these contain the Bromelain. Also, what stage in your pregnancy are you?

The other time pineapple is often avoided in pregnancy is by women suffering from gestation diabetes due to the natural sugar levels in the pineapple.

I hope this has helped to answer your question. Please do post back and let us know your thoughts on this.

Thank you so much LJ! I'll surely keep that in mind. I'm just 23 weeks on my pregnancy and I typically eat 1-3 slices of fresh pineapple everyday and I think I'm getting enough fiber from this. Thanks again!

Like all things, it is important to not take internet advice at face value. As LJ suggests, we know that pineapple contains Bromelain but unless you plan on eating 7 pineapples a day there is no proven risk.

What happens is someone makes the scant connection and without doing their research posts warnings on the internet. However a little research shows there is no proven risk when consuming pineapple in normal serving sizes!

Similarly some of the B-group vitamins, while essential to normal body functioning, can be dangerous if taken in very high doses. Take a recommended daily supplement as recommended and its not a problem. The key here is that anything you put into your body during pregnancy should be done so in line with recommendations.

Eat pineapple if you like it provided your health professional has not deterred you from doing so for dietary reasons (such as having gestational diabetes as LJ mentioned)!

It is safe to eat pine apple. No evidence has found for this. Don't believe on this kind of unscientific stories. You can eat pineapple during pregnancy. The logic behind the myth is that bromelain breaks down proteins and since your newly conceived baby is made up of proteins, consuming bromelain can cause bleeding and miscarriage. Eating 1 cup of fresh fruit in a week is usually safe.